Time After Time
by raisintorte
Summary: Cadman picks up a device in Rodney's lab that results in an unexpected trip. [McKayCadman. Spoilers through Duet]


**Pairing:** McKay/Cadman  
**Spoilers:** Through Duet  
**Summary:** Fic for **shadowserenity** who requested: McKay/Cadman, Romance, and Time-Travel.  
**A/N:** Thanks to **daisycm83** and **kate98** for being the best beta's a girl could ask for. This fits into the Habit; Routine Practice verse, but can be read on it's own.

* * *

Laura was bored. After a rather stressful off world mission Dr. Weir had given her team three days of down time. Unlike downtime on Earth, where everyone could go home and get off base, downtime on Atlantis was still . . .on Atlantis. And as much she loved Atlantis, there really wasn't much to do. She had watched most of the DVD library, she didn't feel like reading a book, and there were only so many places she could go in the city.

Running was usually her favorite thing to do but she had hurt her leg on the last mission so that was out of the question. She was thankful that it was only her leg that was injured. If the natives of MX3-423 had had their way, she would have been trussed up like turkey and tossed in the lake for being a heretic. An arrow in the leg was much preferable to death. But still, she needed something to do. Lauradecided to head down to Rodney's lab to see if he had anything she could do. Even if he didn't, bugging Rodney was her second favorite thing to do.

No one looked surprised when Laura walked into the lab and over to Rodney's work table. She walked up next to his chair and waited for him to acknowledge her. She knew he heard her come in because he had lifted his head a bit.

After two minutes Laura got sick of waiting. "Rodney?"

"What?" Rodney did not sound happy to see her--in fact, his tone implied that he was rather perturbed she was bothering him at work. He didn't even look up.

"I'm bored."

"And you're bothering me why?" Rodney asked as he continued working on his laptop.

"I thought you might have something for me to do, or you might want to do something." Laura tried to use her cutest voice, the one that usually got Rodney to do things for her.

"Oh. I see. Do I look like the Instant Atlantis Entertainment Machine?" This time Rodney looked up from his work when he spoke.

"No, but, you know, I was bored, and you're . . . well . . . you always have stuff to do. I thought you might have something I could do."

"Yes, 'cause we always allow just anyone who walks into the lab touch the Ancient devices." Rodney said snarkily.

"I could be helpful. I could do non-scientific work. For example this . . . thing?" Laura picked up a round ball that had been sitting on the corner of Rodney's desk. "I could photograph and write a description, or I don't know, do something?"

"What? No! Put that down. We have no idea what that does." Rodney looked rather annoyed as he started to grab the ball from Laura.

"But I don't even have the -- " Laura never got to finish that sentence because the second Rodney touched the ball, the room started spinning and then there was nothing.

* * *

Laura slowly opened her eyes to see where she was but she couldn't quite get them to focus. Her head was _killing_ her. She had no idea where she was or what had happened. The last thing she remembered was being in Rodney's -- _Oh no! Rodney! _

"Rodney?" Laura asked as she started blindly touching the ground around her. "Are you there?"

"Wha – Wha – What happened?" Rodney mumbled. Laura felt a hand grab hers and she held on tight.

"I'm not sure, the last thing I remember, we were in your lab and I was holding the ball thing, you reached out to grab it, and poof we were here--wherever here is." Laura's eyes were slowly focusing and she could make out objects in the room. They appeared to be in one of the storage rooms in Atlantis.

"Right, it's all coming back; You were bugging me, and picked up things you shouldn't have been touching in the first place. Well, we had better head back to the labs and see what that thing did to us. Or maybe we should go to Carson first, as it's obviously a teleportation device of some kind. I want to make sure we were put back together right!" Rodney looked very upset at the idea he might not have been put back together right.

"Calm down Rodney, I'll call Carson on the comm and he can come to us. Neither of us appear to be missing any body parts but just in case --- uh, Rodney? I don't seem to have my comm unit. Do you have yours?

Laura watched as Rodney reached up to his ear to feel for his unit, but she could already see that it was missing. Laura started feeling a little panicked and Rodney was looking a lot panicked.

"Okay, let's not freak out here. We can just get up and walk to Carson's, no problem." Laura stood up and reached out her arm to help Rodney up.

"Not freak out? Are you kidding me? Our comm's didn't make it. If they didn't, what else is missing!" Laura couldn't help but giggle when Rodney looked down his pants to see if he was _all_ there.

"Rodney! Calm down. We can go get full scans. We should bring the device with us so Carson can take a look at it. It's over there, how about you – On second thought, I'll just get that." Laura walked to the side of the closet where the ball was resting. She picked up and stuck it in her pocket.

If it was anyone other than Rodney with her, Laura would have reached out and given them a hug or said something soothing, but she knew Rodney well enough not to go there. She wouldn't have minded a hug or a little kiss but that just wasn't Rodney's way--he snarked to show he cared. The only times Rodney got huggy and kissy were in private, in bed, or when things were bad.

"Let's go." Laura followed Rodney to the door of the room. Rodney touched the door panel and it opened with a woosh. Laura started to follow Rodney into the hall when he turned around and pushed her back into the closet.

"Rodney – wha –"

"Shhhh." Rodney put his hand on Laura's arm and made a shushing gesture.

Rodney closed the door most of the way but left it open a crack so they could see and hear out. Laura hadn't known you could crack open Ancient doors. She leaned in next to Rodney to peer out the door and listen for whatever had caused him to run back into the room.

She heard a group of people coming down the hall and their voices were getting clearer, but she couldn't quite make out who they were yet.

"No, we are not naming it Planet Waterfall, I don't care. Didn't I tell you, you were not allowed to name things?" A voice came from down the hall. Laura recognized it as Colonel Sheppard's but she had never seen the marine he was talking to.

"That's Ford," Rodney leaned over and whispered in her ear.

Laura did a double take. She had certainly heard of Lt. Ford, but what was he doing on Atlantis, walking calmly down the hallway with Colonel Sheppard without looking the least bit drugged up?

"Come on, Major. Just one planet, please?"

Major? Well that pretty much confirmed Laura's idea that something was _very_ wrong.

"Major! Wait up!" Laura watched as Rodney – well, not Rodney, he was standing next to her – but someone who looked liked Rodney ran up to the Colonel and Lieutenant.

She felt Rodney – her Rodney – freeze up at the sound of his own voice. She was about to put her arm around him and pull him back into the room, when the three men disappeared around the corner. Rodney shut the door and slumped down next to wall.

Laura sat down next to him and took the ball out of her pocket.

"So, time travel device?"

"Very observant. What gave you that idea? Could it be the **other version of ME** that just walked down the hall?" Rodney said as he gave her his best 'you idiot' look.

"So, we need to figure out where – or, well, when, - we are, and figure out how to go back." Laura gave Rodney her brightest smile.

"Well, when is easy. Ford is trying to get Sheppard to let him name M1K-439. We visited there for the first time about four and half months after we arrived on Atlantis. Getting back? It's going to be impossible. We can try from here but if we have to move, we are going to have to be careful, contaminating the timeline and all – and – does my hair really look like that?" Rodney looked at Laura and ran a hand through his hair.

"What? Your hair? Yes! It does look like that! Rodney, focus! Home. I think we should try what we did in the lab, I hold the device first, and then you grab it."

"Fine!" Rodney reached out and grabbed the device and the room started spinning.

* * *

"There has to be an easier way to do this. I mean, my head doesn't hurt as bad as last time, but still. The whole spinning and waking up dizzy thing? Not so good." Laura looked around the room. "Where are we?"

Rodney looked around. "This looks like one of the closets off the main hallway. One of us should stick her head out and see what's out there. We need to figure out if this is our time.

"No, no, it doesn't. I'll –"

Just as Laura was about to open the door they head a voice come over the speakers.

"Jinto. This is Dr. Weir. If you can hear me please respond. Jinto. If you're lost, if you can't –" Dr. Weir was cut off mid-sentence and the power went out.

"Crap!"

Laura felt Rodney fumbling around for her in the dark. She grabbed his arm.

"What's wrong?"

"We went earlier in the time line. This is about a week or two after we arrived in Atlantis. We can't move around, we have to use the device from here. There is a half ascended blob wandering around Atlantis waiting to suck the life out of us. Do you have the device?"

"Yes." Laura reached into her pocket and pulled out the ball. "It's my right hand. Ready to try again?"

"Reaching now." Laura held out the device, Rodney touched it, and the room started spinning.

* * *

This time Laura was barely dizzy when the spinning finally stopped. She guessed it got easier the more times they did it. She looked over at Rodney, who still appeared to be having issues.

"This cannot be good for us! I don't even want to imagine what is happening to my body each time we do this. I'm probably losing IQ points or something. Hmmm . . . I'll make Radek give me an IQ test when we get back. Okay, time to figure out when we are."

Laura watched as Rodney looked around the room. Nothing looked familiar to her and from the way Rodney was looking around she could tell he didn't recognize anything either.

"I think we're going to have to head into the hallway and look around for signs. I can't tell anything from this room. We have to be VERY CAREFUL not to contaminate the timeline so if you hear or see anyone hide wherever you can. I mean if you screw up the timeline who knows what our timeline will look like when we get back to it. Atlantis could be destroyed or in the hands of the wraith or Genii or… you may have not even come to Atlantis" Rodney looked particularly horrified at that last prospect. "Well, anyway just don't screw with the timeline."

"Gotcha, let's go. I'll lead?" Rodney nodded and followed Laura into the hallway. She looked around but she didn't recognize anything. She shot Rodney a questioning look and he shook his head.

Laura was about to turn a corner when she heard voices coming. She raised her hand to signal Rodney to stay and be silent.

"Did you hear the latest? Miller says that Team One found enough energy on this planet to dial –" Laura didn't get to hear the end of the sentence because Rodney grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the room they came from.

"We moved forward this time, but not far enough. We're about five – maybe six months after we arrived to Atlantis. Let's try again." Rodney looked expectantly at Laura, as if he was waiting for her to pull out the device.

"Hold on, Rodney. Maybe we should think about this for a few minutes. We have to be doing something wrong. Even if this was just experimental time travel technology I can't imagine that it's this? inconsistent. Maybe you should change what you are thinking?"

Laura could tell that Rodney was getting frazzled. They had been at this for awhile, with no success.

"I'm just thinking of our time. When we left the first time I was annoyed. I've been playing off that emotion. I'll try something new this time. The device?"

Laura held out the device and Rodney touched it. The room started spinning.

* * *

"McKay! What the hell! What are you doing?"

Laura looked up and saw Colonel Sheppard and Teyla standing over them. Colonel Sheppard was smirking at McKay. Then he noticed her and started looking at her strangely.

"Colonel Sheppard, Teyla! We were – " Laura started to explain what had been happening but Col. Sheppard cut her off.

"Colonel? McKay, who is this and what are you doing?" Sheppard's look went from amused to alert very quickly. Okay, not a Colonel, with no idea who she was. Not their time line then.

"Rodney?" Laura gave him a questioning look.

"Okay, Major, Teyla, this is Lieutenant Cadman, and no, don't give me that look, she does exist. We are from farther down the timeline. What you two need to do right now is forget you _ever_ saw us, never mention it, and hope to God we didn't just screw up the timeline." Rodney gave Sheppard and Teyla a hard look.

"Rodney, I don't know what kind of technology you have been messing with but there is no Lieutenant Cadman. Let's go visit Beckett." Colonel Sheppard was talking very slowly, kind of like how you would talk to a crazy person.

Laura could see Colonel Sheppard was reaching for his comm. She looked at Rodney and held out the device. He got the hint and put his hand on it, the room started spinning like normal but before the nothingness she felt another hand grab the device.

Oh _Crap._

_

* * *

_

When they came to a stop, in empty living quarters somewhere in Atlantis, Rodney and Laura were both on their feet and not!Colonel Sheppard was lying on the floor.

"What should we do with him?" Laura looked at Rodney he eyed the unconscious not!Colonel – wait, Major Sheppard.

"Well, he can't stay with us. We have to get him back to his time as soon as possible, before anyone notices he's missing. We need to wake him up." Rodney walked over to the Major and started kicking him in the leg.

The Major came awake with a start. "What the hell?" Major Sheppard looked around the room, at McKay, Cadman and the device and appeared to be considering it all. ,"So I guess you guys weren't lying when you said it was a time travel device."

"Yes, because I just lie all of the time – and no, don't answer that." Rodney glared at not!Colonel when he looked like he was about to speak. "Of course there was a time travel device."

"It's not that I thought you were lying Rodney! But a time travel device?"

"Yes, 'cause it is so hard to believe that the people who built a jumper that could _travel through time_ wouldn't have any prototypes around." Rodney's eyes grew wide when the Major looked surprised at the mention of a time travel. "Forget you just heard that."

Rodney started pacing around that room. "Now that we've established that I'm not a liar, we need to get you back to your own timeline--and then get us back to ours. Here's the plan. Laura will hold out the device, then you and I will grab on at the same time. You think really hard about where we just were and it should take us back there. And I swear to God that if you _ever_ mention that you ran into us, or that this device exists to anyone I will find a way to come back in time and kill you. Do you understand?" Rodney stared Major Sheppard down.

"Chill out, Rodney! Give me a second here." Major Sheppard rubbed his head and gave Rodney and Laura a wary look. "Okay, you guys aren't from my time and we aren't in your time or mine?" Rodney nodded. "Where are we?"

"Don't you mean _when_ are we?" Laura grinned at the Major as she corrected him.

Rodney held out a hand to help Major Sheppard up. "I don't know, and I don't care. All I know is we have to get you back before the timeline is affected. That is all you need to know. Now or EVER."

"Okay, okay, I get the whole screwing with the timeline thing. I don't want to go back to my time and find out I'm suddenly a monkey or a scientist or something. Let's do this. The device?"

Rodney glanced at Laura. "You ready?" Laura nodded and held out the device.

"Okay. One, two, three." On three, both Major Sheppard and Rodney grabbed the device and room started spinning.

* * *

"Major! Doctor McKay! Where did you go? I was worried." Rodney came out the most recent jump slightly disoriented, but he recognized Teyla's voice.

Major Sheppard was slowly coming awake and Laura was already standing next to Rodney with the device.

Rodney looked at Teyla. "Sheppard will explain what happened here, but you have to promise to never mention it to anyone. Do you understand? It is very important that you forget that this ever happened."

Teyla looked a little suspicious and was about to say something when Major Sheppard nodded from the floor.

"I promise, Doctor McKay."

"Good. Now, if only it was that easy for us to get back to our time. You know Major, it is rather annoying how the technology always whores itself out for you and your genes. Cadman? Let's get out of here."

Laura held out the device, Rodney touched it, and the room started spinning.

* * *

When the room stopped spinning, Laura looked around trying to figure out where they were this time. It appeared to be someone's living quarters, thankfully unoccupied.

"Okay Rodney, time to figure out when we are. How do you want to go about it this time?"

"I don't think we should head out too much. We don't want a repeat of last time. Right now we are alone, let's just sit here for a few minutes, and rest. Maybe we'll luck out and something will come over the PA. Let's just sit, okay?" Rodney sounded very tired. Laura took a hard look at him and could see the worry and fatigue on his face.

"All right. Let's sit for a bit." Laura grabbed Rodney's hand and led him to the bed. She looked around the room and didn't recognize any of the items or pictures. Hopefully who ever it belonged to was off-world or working.

Rodney sat down on the bed and Laura sat next to him, wrapped her arms around him, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Let's think about this. There has to be something we're missing here. What are you thinking about when we grab the device?" Rodney snuggled in closer to Laura and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I actually try not to think. – Okay, that's not entirely true. I have been thinking about how much I like spending time with you. But you're the one with the gene, it shouldn't interfere with what you are doing."

"Well, we know with some Ancient technology that once activated by a gene carrier, anyone can use it. I don't know if that works here, because it only works when _both_ of us are touching it . . . wait? You like spending time with me like this?" Rodney gave her a questioning look.

"Yeah, I mean it's not ideal circumstances, but it is time together."

"Huh. You really want to spend time with me?" Rodney looked surprised.

"Of course I do Rodney! Why do you think I was nagging you in your lab?"

"I dunno, you were bored?"

Laura gave Rodney a pointed look. "Did you really think that?"

"No, I guess not. I'm just not used to having someone around. I suck at relationships. You know that!"

"Yes, but I like you anyway." Laura smiled at Rodney. "We should get back on task here, next time I'll click my heels together three times and think of home. That worked for Dorothy, it should work for us."

"Okay, but we should probably talk about this again later. Right?" Rodney smiled at Laura as if he was waiting for her to say something girly.

Laura laughed. "Sure, if you want, but we don't have to. We'll see how it goes."

She wrapped her arms a bit tighter around Rodney and they sat in companionable silence for a while. They were both exhausted and the constant time travel had to be taking some toll on their bodies. Laura and Rodney rarely had the opportunity to just sit in silence. They were always doing something, work, reading, watching TV, playing games, having sex. They never really just sat. Laura was about to suggest maybe they take a nap when a voice came over the comm..

"May I have everyone's attention please? We have run into a questionable medical situation and at Doctor Beckett's suggestion we have decided to put the city into a self-regulated quarantine. For at least the next couple of hours, I need everyone to stay where they are, and report anyone moving freely through the halls. I hope you'll understand. Thank you."

As soon as Rodney heard Dr. Weir's voice he sat up straighter. Laura gave Rodney a questioning look.

"We have to go to the Gateroom."

That was not what Laura had been expecting Rodney to say.

"What? Rodney. No. We can't do that."

"We have to! This is during the nanovirus. If Dr. Weir just instituted the self-regulated quarantine, I have time to save Dumais. And Peterson, and Hayes. We have to do something." The look on Rodney's face broke Laura's heart.

"Rodney. No! I know you want to save them, but you can't. You've been preaching about protecting the timeline nonstop during this entire incident. We can't change now. We have to leave. Now."

"Cadman, if you had the opportunity to go back and fix something, you would! I have that chance. We can save them!"

"No, we can't. They are already dead. We don't belong here Rodney. We have go. Think of home, Rodney, think of home."

Rodney looked like he was about to say something more but Laura held out the device. He gave her a pleading look and she shook her head. Rodney reached out for the device, and the room started spinning when he touched it.

* * *

"Rodney? Laura? Thank god! Where have you been?" Elizabeth asked.

Rodney looked around the room and saw Colonel Sheppard, Carson, Dr. Weir, Ronon, Teyla, and half the science staff staring at them.

"We've been around. How long have we been missing?" Laura could see that Rodney was exhausted. They had been traveling for almost 16 hours. She was getting shaky and he needed a shower and a good night's sleep.

"Twenty minutes." Elizabeth looked very concerned.

Rodney looked at Radek. "Get me a level two storage container. This device is not to be touched by anyone with the gene under any circumstances." While Radek ran off to do that Rodney grabbed Laura's hand and looked at the rest of the group. "Right now, Lt. Cadman and I are going to with Carson to his lab, so he can practice his voodoo on us and make sure we came back in one piece. No, do not ask from where. While we are there someone will be nice and get us something to eat, then we are going to shower and sleep, and I don't want to talk to anyone about that device until tomorrow. As long as it's in the containment field nothing can happen. If you really have any questions, ask Colonel All Ancient Technology Loves Me Sheppard over there, and no, Colonel, I am not going to forgive you for not telling me about it."

Colonel Sheppard looked liked he was going to protest but Rodney's glare stopped him. Rodney tugged on Laura's hand and headed towards the door of the lab.

"Come on Cadman, let's go home."


End file.
